Aldermen get $3.6 million request for SNHU Arena upgrades
Renovation funding for SNHU Arena could be approved as early as September following deliberations by the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) on Tuesday.
MANCHESTER, NH – Renovation funding for SNHU Arena could be approved as early as September following deliberations by the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen (BMA) on Tuesday.
According to Tim Bechert, SNHU Arena Senior General Manager, the arena continues to draw in guests for its events, ranking in the Top 10 nationally among arena venues with less than 15,000 seats and finishing second only to the Boston Garden within New England. However, Bechert also said that there have not been significant upgrades and repairs to the arena since it opened in 2001.
Bechert’s request included $3,684,220 for the next year (dubbed “Phase 1”) and $3,413,500 to be allocated at some point over the next five years (dubbed “Phase 2”). While the largest Phase 1 purchase would be an entirely new center-hung video board system, expenditures range from renovated luxury suites to roof repair that BMA Chair Joseph Kelly Levasseur described as “extensive.”
The city owns the arena and is expected to pay for needed repairs, although it was unclear if SMG, the company that employs Bechert and operates the arena, could immediately pay and later be reimbursed for unexpected repairs. Bechert did say that if there were immediate repairs needed on the roof, it would be unlikely such repairs could funded by SMG since roof renovation has been recommended for several years.
Ward 1 Alderman Chris Morgan recommended restarting the BMA’s Civic Center Committee, which oversaw such requests before its dissolution in 2019.
Alderman At-Large Dan O’Neil felt that the roof repair should occur immediately given that repair would be difficult during the winter. Ward 5 Alderman Anthony Sapienza replied that if roof repairs were required in the near future then the request should have come several months ago. He also wanted more information before approving the Phase 1 appropriations.
“I don’t know if we should spend $300,000 on a roof, I’m not a roofer, that might be a good price, but we need professional advice,” said Sapienza.
Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais recommended that a vote be delayed until September so a tour of the facility can be given to the Aldermen and the renewed Civic Center Committee can discuss the expenditures and a bond resolution can be reviewed by the BMA’s Community Improvement Committee before coming to the full board for final approval.
